49ERS NOTEBOOK / Special Teams' Struggles Continue

1999-10-25 04:00:00 PDT Minneapolis -- Eventually, the 49ers special-teams units may get it right. But there's little reason to believe it will happen this season.

A week after promising improvement, the special teams made strides in one area -- the Vikings did not return a kickoff for a touchdown. But return man David Palmer averaged 33 yards on two returns, above the 49ers' already awful (and NFL- worst) 29.4-yard-per-return average.

And the mistakes keep coming. Punter Chad Stanley, deep in his own end zone, fielded a bad snap off the turf during the third quarter and had his punt partially blocked. It wobbled 18 yards, setting up a Minnesota drive that ended with Jeff George's 2-yard TD pass to Cris Carter seven plays later.

When Minnesota finally punted, with 8:56 remaining, R.W. McQuarters sat back and allowed what would have been a 41-yard Mitch Berger punt (had he downed it) to sail by. Instead, the ball took an incredible bounce, rolling all the way to the 49ers' 1-yard line.

Four plays later, tight end Chad Fann was called for holding in the end zone as Stanley punted -- a safety for the Vikings, who really didn't need the help at that point.

The 49ers inserted some starters into the return units -- safety Lance Schulters played on the kickoff team -- but nothing is improving.

"But we must," 49ers coach Steve Mariucci said. "It's an area where we've been much better. We've got to protect the punter in a dangerous situation and we've got to catch the football when we can. Those kinds of things have been adding up.

"There has to be drastic improvement."

Incredibly, Schulters didn't think it was bad. "For the most part, special teams played well; our kickoff coverage was better than in the past," he said. "We can't blame it on special teams. By the time they gave up the safety, things had already snowballed."

CLARK HOSPITALIZED: Tight end Greg Clark, who fractured five ribs in the preseason, re-injured his ribs late in the game and left the field on a cart. He suffered a partially collapsed lung in addition to more possible rib fractures.

Clark was kept overnight at a Minneapolis hospital for observation. He was scheduled to fly back to the Bay Area today.

SCHULTERS ACCUSES MOSS: Schulters left the field hobbled by a high left ankle sprain. He openly accused Vikings WR Randy Moss of cut-blocking him on the 49ers' goal-line stand in the fourth quarter.

"That punk m-- Randy Moss cut me," Schulters said. "I'm gonna get him back. Put that in the paper. I wish I could go find him now. I told him I'm gonna get him, because we're gonna play them again.

"He hit me in my knee. He thought it was funny. He thought it was a joke. That's his job, to stop me. But I'm gonna get him."

Moss already had left the Vikings' locker room and couldn't be reached for comment. GOOD RIDDANCE: More news has surfaced as to the reason why the 49ers released troublesome cornerback Mark McMillian last week. An NFL source said McMillian frequently mouthed off to defensive coaches, but his greatest insubordination may have come in St. Louis. As Mariucci addressed the rapt locker room in the wake of that 42-20 loss, McMillian ignored the coach, removed his pads and loudly ripped tape from his ankles.

Mariucci loudly asked McMillian to stop, the source said, but was ignored.